by Greg Mayer
In honor of Drink Beer Day, and following up on the offerings by Jerry and Andrew Berry, here are some beers I had on a trip to England in January. We of course must begin with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Jerry’s favorite.
This of course is the bottled variety, which was all they had at the aptly named Leopard Bar in Bloomsbury.
The lovely Radnor Arms in Coleshill, Oxfordshire, is a classic country pub.
But, unfortunately, I don’t recall what beers we had there; that’s them there, at the front of the bar.
At the Anchor, in Polstead Road in Oxford,
I had beers with both evolutionary
and naval connections (my father and daughter were/are in the US Navy, and our host was a former Royal Navy officer).
Swordfish is “very good“, fide Beer Advocate, but, as Jerry would appreciate, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord is “outstanding“! Just down the Road from the Anchor is the childhood home of T.E. Lawrence. Jerry and I are both Lawrence aficionados, and Jerry has shared his photos of Lawrence’s last home, Clouds Hill, so here’s where he lived from 1896-1921. (Note the Blue Plaque.)
In London, Punch and Judy in Covent Garden has a fine bar,
and fine food–beef & raclette cheese shortcrust pie–with accompanying pint, but, alas, I did not note what beer it was. (Note the HP Sauce.)
Besides traditional English pubs, London has many fine ethnic restaurants, and, at Oorja Indian Dining, the Indian beer Kingfisher was available. (It’s not great, fide Beer Advocate.)
Both the British Museum and the Natural History Museum have nearby pubs. In Kensington, near the latter, we found Timothy Taylor’s Landlord on tap.
Note the real pull handle.
Across the street from the British Museum, the Museum Tavern, adorned by an image of the Museum’s founder, Sir Hans Sloane,
had a fine bar (note the American style taps for Peroni and other beers at the near end of the bar, and the pull handles for English beers down by the gent who’s about to order),
where I had, of course, the house ale.
Finally, on the way out of England, I tried Aspall Cyder, made in Suffolk, at a hotel at Heathrow Airport.
Thank you for the tour, Greg. Wish we had had iphones to grab snaps of the pubs I enjoyed years ago on my business travels to the UK. Can you describe differences between the bottled Timothy Taylor and the pulled pint on tap? Just curious.
Comment by Greg Mayer
Jim–
At this remove, I don’t think I could describe the difference, but I much preferred the pulled pint. The tasting notes in the Beer Advocate link in the OP might address the issue. In general, I had one pint per establishment (The Anchor being an exception), so I couldn’t do too much taste-testing beyond the first impression. I’ll have to go back!
GCM
All great! I hope to visit some pubs in England, once I retire.
The pub interiors are classy and inviting and proper…there are only warm connotations from places such as those.
Aspall is a fine cider, esp. the dry. I don’t know what’s in your glass. They also had a berry infused variety. It was available in most well stocked stores here in the American NW, but I haven’t seen it for many years. I was glad to see your recent photo as proof they’re still producing that fine beverage. Thanks for the cheers-full post.
I was lucky enough to go to the Timothy Taylor’s tap room a few weeks ago (Taylor’s on the Green in Keighley, Yorkshire). Stunningly good beer of course, and the food wasn’t bad. They had brews I rarely see – Boltmaker, Golden Best, Landlord Dark (previously called Ram Tam) and Blonde as well as Landlord. Between the two of us we tried them all, and all were excellent. Then we had a lie down.
With cask ales such as these, freshness and how the beer is kept makes an enormous difference. This could be why your experience of a pint of Harveys or Landlord might be very different from mine. I was enthusiastic to visit the brewery tap – it’s the showcase of the brewery so they make sure it’s in the best condition.
With respect to Wadworth’s of Devizes, their very best beer is their winter brew, Old Timer. Even better than Young’s Winter Warmer. My two or three brews each summer are constantly being adjusted to try to mimic Old Timer, and I’m getting close.
Second best Wiltshire brewer is Arkell’s of Swindon, and I recommend their Moonlight.
But since I live in Nova Scotia now, I have to mention Tatabrew of Tatamagouche. Look for their Butcher’s Block red ale. I sold both my house and my office to the owners of that business, and while they live in the house, the office is used for storage of supplies in the basement (whilst the upstairs has become a chocolate factory!) Nice to know I left a lasting contribution to the health and gaiety of Tatamagouche.